Sometimes Love Is Not Enough

Chapter 18

Arnav

She left...
 
I glanced at the closed door as her voice rang in my mind.
 
"It really was a mistake to fall in love with you..."
 
Her eyes were filled with rage where they used to be filled with love... She thinks that loving me is a mistake.
 
I felt like I was going to die... Someone had ripped my heart out... It was painfully anguish inside of me.
 
Why did I speak to her mother in that way? Why can't I just stop and consider before doing something? Why can't I just stop being angry?... Why?... Why is this happening to me?

I just wanted to stop Khushi from leaving. I didn't want to disrespect her mother. I just wanted to put a stop to her. I couldn't bear the idea of her abandoning me... I was afraid she'd leave if I didn't do something to stop her... But eventually... she did... leave me.
 
I took deep breaths as I tried to think. What should I do? What will make her forgive me? What will make her come back?... But I couldn't think of anything. All I knew was that she thought it was a mistake.

No... I shook my head. She didn't mean it. She can't... She only wanted to hurt me for how I treated her mother. That's why she said what she did. I need to apologize to them and... bring her back. I need to get her back right now.
 
I spun around and rushed upstairs, two steps at a time. I know she loves me. And if I apologize, she'll forgive me. She has to. Before racing back down, I pushed open our bedroom door and grabbed my car keys and phone.
 
Everyone was still in the living room. But I didn't look at them as I made my way to the main door.

"Chote, wh..." Di inquired.
 
"Not now, Di." I interrupted without looking over my shoulder at her as I neared the door.
 
"Chote, I.." Di tried once again.
 
"Di, please not now." With annoyance, I yanked the door open.
 
"Arnav."
 
I came to a standstill as I heard her... Why is Di calling me Arnav? She never speaks to me without Chote. Why is she...?
 
"Come here. I need to speak with you." Her tone was cold and uncaring.

I closed the door and turned. She was standing just beside Nani. Her eyes were puffy from sobbing, yet her face... Her face said little. No emotions. Nothing. It looked like Di was wearing a mask. I almost didn't recognize her.
 
I approached her and came to a halt in front of her.
 
"Where are you going?" She asked quietly, her gaze fixed on the ground.
 
"To bring Khushi back." As soon as she asked, I responded without hesitation.
 
"You are not going anywhere near the Gupta family." She repeated it in the same tone as before, without looking at me.

"I am... going." I gritted my teeth and turned back toward the entrance. What's the matter with Di? Why is she acting this way?
 
"If you go there... then the whole Raizada family will cut all ties with you."
 
I came to a complete stop as my eyes widened at her words. What is she saying? Why... is she talking like that? I turned around and walked toward her again.
 
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, looking at her and then at everyone before returning my eyes to her. She continued to stare down.
 
"I..." 

"Di, look at me while you're talking." I said as my frown deepened and my voice rose with irritation.
 
"I don't..." she said, not looking at me.
 
"Di!" My voice rang as rage gripped me, I exhaled heavily. "Why aren't you looking at me?"
 
Di closed her eyes for a moment before gazing up at me.
 
"Because I don't want to see your face." She exclaimed loudly as she, too, exhaled heavily. Her eyes glowed with fury and anguish.
 
I looked at her with disbelief as my rage began to fade, while she looked at me with searing rage in her eyes.

"I don't want to see your face. I don't want to call you my brother. Because it makes me feel ashamed of you." She yelled.
 
I kept looking into her eyes with disbelief as she shouted.
 
"Di..." I tried as my heart began to race. My throat clenched. As tears well up in the back of my eyes.
 
"Don't call me Di." She cut in as she took a step forward. Her eyes were welling up with tears. "How could you do that to her?... How?... How could you have ruined her life in that way?... Is this what I taught you?... Answer me."
 
"Di, I... was just trying to protect your marriage." I replied as I reached for her hand, but she resisted.

"Are you even understanding what you have done while trying to protect my marriage? Do you have any idea how big this thing actually is?" She inquired but did not wait for my response. "You forced a girl into marriage while blackmailing her to break her sister's marriage."
 
I took a big breath and gazed down at the ground. I know what I did was wrong, but hearing it from Di...
 
"And you did it without knowing anything... You could have at least told me of this." I kept my gaze fixed on the ground as she stared at me. "How can you even dare to stop Khushi Ji after all of this? How could you even look her in the eyes and try to make her stay?"

She stared at me for a moment before stepping back and saying, "Thank you very much for always thinking about me, but... I think I can make my own decisions quite well. And Nani, the family's elder, is still alive. So you don't have to handle all of these responsibilities. And you're not going anywhere near Khushi Ji or her family."
 
As she finished, I looked up. She can't do this. She won't be able to stop me...
 
"You can't stop me from bringing my wife back." I said as I looked at her deep in the eyes.
 
"She's not your wife." Nani spoke up before Di could. I turned to her as she glared at me.

I nodded, pressing my tongue against the inside of my cheek walls.
 
"Maybe not... But I love her. And I'll bring her back. No matter what the price is." I said, looking up at her.
 
Di shook her head and smiled sadly at me.
 
"You really don't care about what others feel, do you?... But... It's actually my fault. I tried my best to raise you to be a strong person after Mumma and Pappa. So you don't become as weak as me..." She paused while nodding. "But while doing that... I failed to make you a human being."